by Jess Hoffman
I have to admit I did absolutely zero research before I went to the Cohoes Music Hall to review Creative License’s current production, Breathing Time. Normally I try to have a little background when I review a play, but I had just returned from a busy time travelling and so I went off to see the show without so much as a Google search. It was an excellent way to go into this play; I highly encourage anyone reading this review to stop reading and instead just take a chance and go see Breathing Time. For those of you who must have some knowledge of the show before walking into the theater, my review follows.
Breathing Time begins with two financial specialists sharing an office on the 95th floor of an unnamed skyscraper. I have never worked in a major financial institution, but the office set, designed by Jacob Bell, is exactly as drab and no-nonsense as I would expect it to be, with two desks close enough together that the two men can have a casual conversation from behind their desks but enough space that they can get up and move around in the middle with ease. The only out-of-place part of the set is a clock on the wall that, when I saw the show, never seemed to match the time that the characters said it was (and the exact time is important in this scene).
One of the bankers, Mike, is a put-together, clean-cut number-cruncher who always arrives early. The other, Jack, is an unpredictable ideas guy who shows up to work hungover, thinks outside the box, and whom, we learn, moved into the marketing department (and the office) because he was terrible on the trading floor but had a knack for creative marketing. And so the play begins as a sort of workplace Odd Couple, as the two men bicker, bond, and hope to make their way up to one of the fancier private offices on the floors above.
Chad Reid bounds around the stage with boyish enthusiasm as Jack, while Nick Matiniano stands his ground as Mike, but occasionally erupts into emotion and action. The two play so well off each other that the beginning of the play is riveting even though there is very little action. Instead, the first scene sets the time and place. Even for someone who did absolutely no research, there are some key context clues presented. Starbucks is the new hot coffee shop, but audaciously expensive at $3 for a cup of coffee. The office has windows with a view, but the view is north-facing and the two men lament their lack of sightline to the Statue of Liberty.
The two men also discuss their families and their hobbies. Mike mentions that he has a pilot license but can’t afford to fly as much as he’d like to. He discusses the possibility of joining the Air Force Reserves, at which point Jack shares his own story of growing up with an injured veteran father and urges Mike not to join the reserves just in case “some big war” should break out. This all turns out to be foreshadowing for a sudden tragedy that abruptly ends the first scene.
The second scene introduces two new characters meeting for the first time in a quiet and recently reopened restaurant. These characters are Mike’s wife, Julie (played by Laura Graver) and Jack’s sister, Denise (played by Emily Bryan). The two women are both grieving their losses, but in very different ways. Julie is proper, polite, and trying to tamp down her grief. Denise is trying to make sense of her loss by connecting with the people who were connected to Jack, but of course Julie keeps a wall in the way. The two women are iridescent on stage, so that the bare bones set (table, chairs, and drinks) are all that the scene needs. Bryan plays her role with naive determination and confused grief, while Graver portrays the stoic suburban homemaker with small tics that betray her nerves. For most of the second half of the play, the two very different women talk circles around their grief and their loss as they try to connect in a meaningful way. Whether or not they get anywhere in processing their loss isn’t entirely clear, but it’s a beautiful scene nonetheless.
It is with these two different but interconnected stories that Breathing Time takes its audience on a pirouetting helicopter ride of emotions as it flows seamlessly from funny to sad to tragic and back. Some who have dealt with the sudden loss of a loved one may find the material sensitive, and some theatergoers may be offended by some of the casually sexist “guy-talk,” but the show is well worth it. Sensitive groups will likely find the play cathartic! It’s real, raw, breathtaking, and beautiful, and all the actors involved have more than enough breadth of talent to pull it off. I cannot recommend this show highly enough.
Creative License presents Breathing Time by Beau Willimon, directed by Aaron Holbritter, runs from September 18-27, at the Cohoes Music Hall, 58 Remsen Street in Cohoes, NY. Produced by Casey Polomaine. Cast: Nick Martiniano as Mike, Chad Reid as Jack, Rhiannon Antico as Karen, Emily Bryan as Denise, Laura Graver as Julie, and Jacob Bell as Kieran. Stage Managed by Rhiannon Antico. Lighting design by Vera Schulman. Set design by Jacob Bell. Costumes & props by Casey Polomaine. Sound design by Aaron Holbritter.
Performance dates are Friday-Sunday. Friday, and Saturday curtains are at 7:30pm and Sundays are matinees only at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for seniors 65 and up, and $25 for military and students. Runs approximately 95 minutes with no intermission. Contains adult language & themes of violence and sudden loss. Recommended for ages 14+. Tickets are available online at https://www.creativelicenseonline.com, by phone at 518-434-0776, or at the door for any performance.